Racing Art Showcased in Keeneland's Newest Auction

Richard Stone Reeves' "Three Kings" painting, featuring Njinsky II, Spectacular Bid and Secretariat and their grooms, will be offered at Keeneland's second annual Sporting Art Auction on Nov. 19. (Images courtesy of Cross Gate Gallery)
Long celebrated for its spectacular boutique racing meets and its recognition as the premier Thoroughbred auction house, Keeneland's Sporting Art Auction is on its way to becoming another special tradition for the Lexington, Ky. institution.
Building on the success of last year’s inaugural event, Keeneland Association and the Cross Gate Gallery of Lexington are joining forces once more to stage the auction on Nov. 19 at 4 p.m. in the Keeneland Sales Pavilion. The 2014 collection features 175 high-quality lots representing fine sporting art, American paintings and sculpture from renowned artists.
In addition to the state-of-the-art Sales Pavilion where the artwork is on display, Keeneland is providing auctioneering expertise with its Vice President of Sales Walt Robertson lending his experience as a knowledgeable sporting art collector and auctioneer.  The artwork has been exhibited for public viewing in the Keeneland Sales Pavilion since the start of the September Yearling Sale.
ARTWORK ON DISPLAY AT THE KEENELAND SALES PAVILION

Robertson and Cross Gate owner Greg Ladd had talked about such a sale for several years before the inaugural session in 2013. The sale-topping work of art was a LeRoy Neiman 17-foot glazed ceramic tile mural, "Flat Racing," which sold for $291,000. Total sales at the 2013 session exceeded $3.1 million, with more than 75 percent of the 174 lots selling, nearly half for more than their high estimate values.
“We received great support last year from the Central Kentucky community, the horse industry and sporting art collectors who enthusiastically embraced the inaugural auction,” Robertson noted. “Buyers also came from all over the world, like the art itself on display. The success of that event confirmed the demand for fine sporting art, and created anticipation for an annual sale.”
CROSS GATE OWNER GREG LADD

Sporting art has its roots in the early 18th century when British noblemen commissioned top-flight artists to depict their favorite horses, dogs and sporting activities in paintings, drawings and sculpture. Today the genre continues to cater to the lifestyle of country ladies and gentlemen.
Operating from a pink-hued Greek revival mansion that overlooks Main Street in Lexington, Cross Gate Gallery spans 11,000 square feet. Its airy, light-filled rooms offer an ideal setting to display the gallery's collection of artwork. Cross Gate Gallery is considered one of the country’s leading sources for fine sporting art and contemporary British figurative painting.
Ladd traveled throughout the United States and Europe to acquire important pieces for the auction. He estimated 70 percent of the works came from private owners with the balance from brokers and dealers.
"Quality sells. We are confident that we are offering the finest sporting art in the world today," said Ladd, curator of the auction with 40 years of experience in the art world.  "There is a limited supply of really good artwork out there, and the best part of our job is finding the quality work by artists like Munnings,  Herring and Troye and offering it to our clients."
One of this year’s most prominent pieces is N.C. Wyeth’s “The Horse Race,” a 40” x 32” oil on canvas depicting two jockeys on horseback racing neck and neck. Wyeth (1882-1945) originally painted the work for James Boyd’s book "Drums. The piece is valued at $550,000 to $650,000.
"UN TAUREAU ET UN OURS" BY ISIDORE JULES BONHEUR

Another significant piece is French artist Isidore Jules Bonheur’s “Un Taureau Et Un Ours” (Bull and Bear), a 30” x 41¼” bronze first shown at the Paris Salon in 1857. Bonheur is known to have produced only two of this subject in this size. One was displayed in the Luncheon Club of the New York Stock Exchange for decades and now resides in the Museum of American Finance (in New York City). The second bronze is the one offered in the 2014 auction. The sculpture is valued at $120,000 to $180,000.
One of this year's more intriguing pieces is Richard Stone Reeves’ “Three Kings,” a 28” x 36” oil on canvas depicting champions Nijinsky II, Spectacular Bid and Secretariat with their grooms at Claiborne Farm. Other highlights of the auction include 19th century and 20th century works by such celebrated artists as Sir Alfred Munnings, Edward Troye, John Frederick Herring Sr., Henry Stull and the French sculptor Emmanuel Fremiet, as well as contemporary pieces by Andre Pater, Larry Wheeler, noted British marine painter Richard Firth and Western American artist Theodore Waddell.
"THREE KINGS" BY RICHARD STONE REEVES

Ladd chose N. C. Wyeth's "The Horse Race" for the cover of the 2014 catalog. It captures the motion and fury of a racing scene that takes place in the book "Drums." Considered the best novel about the Revolutionary War era, Drums was published by Scribner's first in 1925, with a subsequent edition illustrated by Wyeth and published in 1928. This particular scene vividly depicts a three-heat match race between a horse from Virginia, ridden by a jockey in red silks, and the local favorite horse from North Carolina, ridden in the second and third heats by Johnny (in yellow), the novel's protagonist.
The Wyeth legacy is housed in the Brandywine Museum of Art, an 1864-circa grist mill, in Chadds Ford, Pa. There you will find the un-illustrated 1925 edition of "Drums" which the artist read in preparation for this commission and is marked with notes throughout the end sheet.
"THE HORSE RACE" BY N.C. WYETH

An art historian and a practicing paintings conservator specializing in the Wyeth family, Joyce Stoner notes in Wyeth's catalogue raisonne that "Wyeth's paintings from 1925 to 1935 suddenly featured skewed perspectives ... and Russian rayonism with futuristic planes, lines, and colors." While Wyeth tended to subdue his modernist experiments in his illustrations, "The Horse Race" is a notable exception.
"We found this work last year, but the owner wasn't willing to put it into the show," Ladd related. "Wyeth was one of the country's top illustrators, but he was a very talented fine painting artist. Obviously the racing theme adds to its uniqueness. It's an unusual style. Wyeth was experimenting, playing with the work a bit which I think is pretty cool."
If you can’t make the trip in person, online bidding is available. Catalogs are available from Sporting Art Auction representatives in the Limestone Café, located in the Keeneland Sales Pavilion or on the auction’s website, or by calling Cross Gate Gallery at (859) 233-3856.
In keeping with the Keeneland Association’s mission, Keeneland’s portion of the auction proceeds will benefit its non-profit initiatives, including the Keeneland Library Foundation.